Online Reporter
Muchaneta Chimuka
Delta Corporation Limited has handed over a US$10 000 tailoring project to Chiedza Child Care Centre in Harare South as part of the company’s efforts to promote skills development, economic inclusion and sustainable community empowerment.
The project is providing beneficiaries with practical tailoring skills and creating opportunities for them to transition from classroom training into industrial attachments, employment and entrepreneurship.
The initiative has already recorded early successes, with two graduates securing employment and one trainee currently on attachment.
Another trainee is continuing with classroom instruction, while a caregiver is supporting the beneficiaries throughout their training and development.
The current intake has 15 students, with a total of 60 beneficiaries expected to undergo training this year.
The project is expected to equip beneficiaries with practical skills that can improve their prospects for employment and self-employment.
Speaking during the handover ceremony, Delta Corporation General Manager – Corporate Affairs, Ms Patricia Murambinda, said the initiative should be understood as more than the provision of equipment or vocational training.
“Today, we are not simply handing over a tailoring project. We are handing over possibility — the possibility to learn, to work, to earn, to create and, ultimately, to stand independently,” she said.
She said, sustainable community investment must move beyond meeting immediate needs to building capabilities that enable people to shape their own futures.
“A tailoring project sits at the meeting point of education, employment, entrepreneurship and social inclusion. It transforms beneficiaries from recipients of assistance into skilled creators of value,” she said.
Ms Murambinda said the project is expected to equip participants with competencies in garment design, measurement, cutting, sewing, finishing, quality control and customer service.
“These skills can support the production of clothing, school uniforms, protective garments and household textile products while creating pathways to income generation,” she added.
Ms Murambinda challenged the project leadership and beneficiaries to maintain high standards of equipment stewardship, product quality, continuous learning, market development and accountability.
“We hope to see more people being trained, stronger technical competence, consistent product quality, growing market access and improved economic outcomes for participants,” she said.
Ms Murambinda encouraged the project team to develop relationships with schools, companies, institutions, community groups and individual customers to establish a sustainable market for its products.
She also called for reliable records covering training, production, orders, income, operating costs, equipment maintenance and beneficiary outcomes; hence, such information will enable the project and its partners to measure progress, identify challenges and strengthen future decision-making.
Ms Murambinda congratulated the two employed graduates and encouraged them to serve as ambassadors for the programme through their professionalism, reliability and commitment to quality.
“The greatest return on this investment will be realised when today’s beneficiaries become tomorrow’s trainers, employers, mentors and partners,” she said.
“We encourage every beneficiary to receive this opportunity with gratitude, but not to allow it to end with them.”
Ms Murambinda said Delta Corporation’s expectation is that the resources would be properly governed, carefully maintained and used to expand opportunities for training, employment and enterprise.
daniel chigunwe